Joe Carnahan To Direct Pilot Of A&E Remake Of Danish Crime Series ‘Those Who Kill’

Joe Carnahan To Direct Pilot Of A&E Remake Of Danish Crime Series 'Those Who Kill'

Fans of Scandanavian drama (or at least American remakes thereof) take heart. While AMC axed “The Killing” this afternoon, A&E is moving ahead with another murderously titled show in “Those Who Kill,” and have brought on Joe Carnahan to help get it off the ground.

Based on the Danish series of the same name, which itself was based on the books by Elsebeth Egholm, the show will follow a detective and a forensic profiler who track down serial killers. And at least in Denmark, the concept had some success. The original run spawned a two-part, 10-episode series that was followed by a movie. But like “The Killing,” dipping ratings led to the show getting canceled. But perhaps A&E can do better here. Glen Morgan (“Final Destination,” “The X-Files“) has penned the script and Caranhan will tackle the pilot, marking his first time in small screen territory since “Faceless” for Fox back in 2006, another crime show that failed to get picked up.

While the Scandanavian crime phenomenon has done wonders in bookstores, on Euro TV and theaters in general, American remakes haven’t quite been faring so well. In addition to “The Killing” getting canceled, Sony hasn’t been in any hurry to get “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” sequel going after it did decently but not exactly gangbusters at the box office. Is it a mood and approach that’s lost in translation and that audiences here don’t roll with? Or can Carnahan crack the nut with this one and deliver A&E a potential smash hit? Guess we’ll soon see. No word yet on when this will roll, but considering things are currently quiet on the movie front — Fox is apparently moving ahead with “Continue,” his “Groundhog Day“-style action flick, but not much has been heard in a while on that — we presume this project is next. [Deadline]